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Valerie Konstantopilous
Name: Val (Valerie) Konstantopilous * Other Names: Valerie (Val) Konstantopilous. Memories-of-the-Dead/Fallen. Memory. Finds-Stories. Tailgater. Spy. Nosey. Damn Thunder-Touched Bird. Miss Finite Details Ad Nauseum. The Western Tengu (To a rare few). Spooky (To those in the SCPD). Feathers (Fuck you Thomas), Follows-the-Rainbow-Road * Gender: Female * Race: Corax * Rank: Volucri (4) * Date of Birth: May 17, 1980 Misc: * Creation Date: November 2003 * Creation Rank: 1 * Departure Date: Still Here! History Mundane New History Val appears to be nothing more than a teenager (born 2000) and is registered under the legal name of Vanessa Costa. All her ID is fake. And she isn't registered as being enrolled in any of the local schools. Old History When Val first came to St. Claire, she was working as a freelance photographer. While this job allowed her to make her own hours, it paid very poorly. She eventually got a job doing Crime Scene Photography and garnered a reputation for being very good at the job, often picking out details that even seasoned Cops and Detectives would miss. Eventually, went from being a Crime Scene Photographer, too a beat cop. She did well enough at this job, even if she spent several years simply handing out parking tickets... She always seemed to be able to finish her routes far more thoroughly and faster than your average Officer. After several years of experience as a beat cop and passing the appropriate exams, Val was given the Rank of Detective in 2009 and settled into the Homicide division. Here, she garnered a stunning reputation. Always at work on time, impeccable work ethic, above average case-solve rate, etc, etc, etc.... All that changed in in January of 2012. She started missing work, calling in sick with little or no notice. People noticed and warnings were handed out. Even when she was at work, she seemed distracted and overly tired. Then there was that whole incident where is called in sick for two days, then showed up at work with a shaved head, when she used to have hair past her butt. Rumours abounded. Trouble at home, trouble with a boyfriend, maybe drugs? The rumour mill churned at a rather remarkable rate. Still, she managed an average to above-average case-solve rate and this is the only thing that allowed her to keep her job. Whatever her problem was, it seemed to settle somewhat in early April of 2012. While she is still prone to missing the odd day of work, her hours became more reliable. Then, the 'incident' happened in June of 2012. While dropping off a purse-snatching victim and leaving her Partner at the Station, Val disabled all the recording devices in her squad car and aside from a few sporadic call ins on her radio, disappeared for well over an hour. While she claimed that her long absence from the Station was due to a flat tire, few really believed this cover story. Once again, the rumour mill began to churn... It didn't help that Val had already scheduled a leave of absence and didn't return to work for three months. When she returned, she promptly submitted her resignation, much to the relief of her superiors. She is currently a small business owner, having opened up the Snakes and Lattes Café, on Silver and Ellicot Streets Midtown. The Café, which opened up in early 2013, has developed a strong customer base and appears to be here to stay. She also works as a Private Investigator Part Time, for Nicodemus Dalton. Specializing in Missing Persons, Lost Objects, and Cheating Spouses. In 2014, she moved to Port Angeles to be closer to family, but still owns the Snakes and Lattes Cafe in St. Claire. Among the Garou Val has been a fixture at the Hidden Walk since early 2004. Useful Bird, Scout, Blabbermouth, Troublemaker, Dropper of Silver Rings, Eater of eyes. Speaker for the Dead. Information gatherer. Flighty bird. Nuisance. Chatterbox. Pain in the backside. Friend to Stormcrows. Her reputation varies from Garou to Garou, depending on whom one talks too and how long their memories are. When she originally arrived at the Hidden Walk, she was young, impulsive, and prone to messing with people and spying on them, simply because she could. This normally took the form of using Voice of the Mimic to mimic wolf howls, low flying airplanes, various Garou, ect. Needless to say, this behavior didn't always make her many friends in the local Garou population. She thought it was a laugh riot, the wolves, not so much. Then, there was that whole incident where she fell under the influence of a particularly nasty magical item/Fetish. A small glittering gem, that made the viewer want it, one the same level as the One Ring in Lord of the Rings. Val, being a Corax, fell under the influence of the item even more strongly than most and was willing to do anything to get her hands on it. Going so far as to drop silver rings in to the eyeballs of the Garou currently in possession of the item. While the issue was resolved and Val did her best to make amends, some wolves have very long memories. On a more positive note, she has scouted for the Garou on numerous occasions. Is known for passing on information that has proven useful and has probably saved a few lives over the years. She was heavily involved in the Pink Fuzz Fiasco and even planted dynamite in an airplane, preventing the spiritually enhanced drugs from leaving St. Claire. Since 2012, she scouted Plasticorp and brought the Wyrm-infested company to the attention of the Garou. Locating the Bane that Rajani, the Kitsune, had been hunting for years. She was also involved in the raid that brought down the company, acting as a glorified flashlight, and a mobile ambulance service. She provided assistance that helped bring down the Hunter-Bane and the Black Spiral Dancers that arrived after the Bane was destroyed. When the Dancers were attacked, most of their silver-filled guns failed to fire - likely saving a number of lives and the rumour mill gives Val the credit from mucking with the Fallen Garou's guns. Once the BSDs were dead, she spoke with the bodies and obtained some interesting information. There is also the rumour that she saved a Stormcrow named Storm’s-Shadow/Nokivaris from a Bane, though the use of some fast talking. When rumours started to circulate that something big was going to happen and the Wyld growth began on the Bawn, Val pulled on her resources and was able to come up with some accounts of Hives and Glades that had previously been infested by the Wyld-Wasps that the Garou were expecting to descend on the Caern. When Mouse developed a Rite to put the Caern to sleep to protect it from the Wyld-Wasp invasion, Val was unable to help directly, but she was able to give Mouse a Token (A smooth rock, brightly painted, glittery, and with a Rara Avis feather tied to it.), which was used in the Ritual. Val returned after a three month absence between July - October 2012 and it is widely known that she spend her time away on an Umbral Field Trip. Traveling from St. Claire, to New York, to England, and finally, to the Emerald Courts in Japan. She is also said to have visited Pangaea and the Aetherial Realm. After Returning to St. Claire, Val went with Mouse, Salem, and Nick, to Mt. St. Helens to scout the site as a suitable new home for the Wyld-Wasps that inhabited the Caern at the time. She was also spotted on the Moon Bridge that was being cleared, so that the Wasps could be led to their new home. While the Garou did battle with a Spiritual Calvary, Val managed to convince the Spiritual Yakima Warriors that were chasing the Calvary to back off and not get involved in the fight. Possibly saving a few lives in the process. She also identified the break/crack in the Umbra Reality that was allowing the Battle Grounds to spill out on to the Moon Bridge. After pointing out the break to the Garou, the Wolves managed to seal the Umbral tear and make the Moon Bridge safe once again. Once the dust settled, Val healed a few of the Injured Garou and took her leave. Some Garou may have noticed that she healed Charlene, and removed the Galliard’s newly earned Battle Scar. After the Garou managed to move the Wyld-Wasps to their new home in Mt. St. Helens and all the preparations were in place, the Rite of Caern Reawakening was performed. Val was not involved in the Rite itself, but she did donate some of her Gnosis to the cause, before the Ritual began. When the inevitable influx of Wyrm creatures arrived, she did her best to help the defenders by dropping awakened pepper bombs on the attackers. A small amount of help, but help none the less. She healed three Garou during the course of the battle; Owen , Alexandra , and Charlene. She was the first to spot the arrival of ‘George’, a large Nexus Crawler that used to live atop Hillard Memorial Hospital, before it burned down years earlier. While her warning gave the Garou precious seconds to prepare for the Crawler’s arrival, it did nothing to protect them from its scream, which came close to killing several Garou outright. Val was not spared from the Crawler’s attack and plummeted out of the sky. Still, she survived, as did most of the Garou involved in the Caerns Reawakening (Thanks to the Giant Wyld Spirit that showed up and did battle with the Crawler.). The only Garou who fell during the Rite were Owen and Whisper. Val is making noises about Ex in mind 2013… The Lost Cub that was claimed by the Furies. Ex was once held captive and used as a ‘lab rat’. Val wants to find those responsible and point the Garou at them. She managed to track the operation to Vancouver, Washington, but there the trail went cold. The Corax is a small business owner, having opened up the Snakes and Lattes Café, on Silver and Ellicot Streets Midtown. The Café, which opened up in early 2013 and on the upper floor of the Cafe, there is a one bedroom apt that Val lives in and maintains a safe haven for the local kinfolk to meet and greet. Along with an information board and a local whitepages. Among the Corax Val is the daughter of Mellisa (Mel) Konstantopilous, who currently lives in Port Angeles, Washington. Until 2010, Mel and her husband used to live down in Florida. Mel is a Volucris(4) and the one who made Val her Sliver of Helios Fetish. Mel, like most Corax, has a number of Corax contacts and is well known in the Corax community. The Bird's that Mel keeps in contact with the most, are located in South Eastern US, but one or two are known for wandering down in to Mexico. While Val's mother is Corax, Corax are not born along familial lines and Val's 'Spirit-Mother' was a raven-born Corax who usually went by the name of Crystal or Calls-the-Loudest. A few years after creating Val's Spirit Egg, Crystal wandered off in to the Umbra and was never heard from again. Although, rumours persist that she is still around, wandering from one Realm to the next. Val has a fairly wide-spread reputation amongst the Corax Community as a whole. She spent most of her early years in Florida, followed by a brief stint in New York, before finally moving to St. Claire. Val keeps in touch with various Corax that don't reside in St. Claire and she does this through email and over the phone. This small information network is an excellent way for her to tap into any tales/rumors that are circulating outside the city and in the world at large. More specifically, she keeps in contact with one Corax that normally travels between New York and Toronto fairly regularly. The remainder are scattered along the Western US. From Vancouver, too Mexico. While she can receive info from outside this area, it is always second hand at best and may not be as detailed as info from the places her contacts normally pass through. When she was younger, she used to be called Finds-Stories and was known as a decent scout, who delighted in passing on bits of rumour and the odd story that she'd come across. Somewhere along the line, she started getting ribbed for how seriously she took the task of 'Drinking Eyes', was dubbed Memories-of-the-Dead - and the name stuck. For those who know her well, this obsession with storing up the memories of the dead and that all deserve to be remembered, stems from the first human-eye she ever took (1998). A young man by the name of Ricky, Val's first serious boyfriend, and the man she abandoned to go for help when the pair was attacked by a Leech. By the time Val returned with help Ricky was dead, drained of blood and dumped in an alleyway. She had a bit of a rough time between 2009-2012, after she attempted to discourage a pack of Garou from following a course of action that would get them killed, up in the Rocky Mountains in BC. An altercation occurred, which resulted in Val having her right shoulder blade nearly ripped out of her back. Calling Garou stupid and various other names is generally a bad idea. In the end, the incident scared Val very badly and she retreated into her mundane life for more than two years. There were even some rumours, near the end, that she was likely to lose Rank for neglecting her duties as a Corax, before she got her act back together in early 2012. She's known to have a Warper (Nick Dalton) friend since roughly 2005. It is widely known that the Mage is a long-time resident of St. Claire and like all Mages, can pull some interesting tricks. The Mage does seem to draw power from Glades (Which Warpers are known to do), but he does so without damaging the Glades and he actually seems to care about the welfare of these sacred places. Val has quite loudly declared the Warper (Nick) to be 'one of the good ones,' a friend to Raven's Children, and should be treated as Raven-Kin if ever encountered. It is known that Val got out of her funk and started getting her act together; about the same time she started going on about her Mage having returned to the city(Jan 2012) after an absence of a few years. More than a few birds have drawn the connection between the Mage's return to St. Claire and Val's return to her duties as a Corax. All in all, Val used to be very closed lipped about the Warper. She used to talk about him very freely, and then started clamming up near the end of Febuary 2012, but opened up again in mid October. Some say that Raven himself got involved in bringing Val back in to the flock. Since the beginning of 2012, Val has been a busy bird. She has reported the presence of three Mages in the city, and two Kitsune. She has scouted several locations, was part of a few major fights (See Among the Garou) and was involved in the Reawakening of a Caern, witnessed a battle between a Nexus Crawler and a massive Wyld Spirit. She was there when the Caern was re-born and saw the Caern’s Three Totems. She even managed to find Beth, a young woman who should have been a Corax, but her egg was stolen. Val is doing everything in her power to find who stole the girl’s egg and adopt Beth. Adoption through legal means ended up taking far too long for Val, so she ended up kidnapping the once-Corax with the aid of her parents. She also made certain to drop a rather large information package in the laps of child services, to make certain that Beth's less than ideal Foster Parents were never allowed to Foster children again. Val continues to talk about finding those that stole Beth's Egg, but most Corax feel that this is a futile quest, since the egg was stolen so very long ago. Val knows more about Mages then many of the Bete and is now seen as something of a minor expert on the subject of Warpers. In 2014, Val Summoned a Sands-of-Time Spirit. She learned that those who stole Beth's Egg are long dead. She also learned that the Spirit-Egg was re-bound to a human child and a Buzzard was created. Now, she hunts for the Buzzard. Allies, Contacts, and Mentor Spirit Contacts - Val does her best to keep in touch and have friendly relations with the local spirits in St. Claire. As such, there are a number of spirits in the city and around the Bawn that she is familiar with. As a result, the odd friendly may choose to give her a choice bit of information. If the right price is paid, of course. Unnamed Corax Contacts - A Tengu in Japan, and one in England. She also keeps in touch with several Corax contacts up and down the west coats of the US, as far south as Mexico. Mellisa Konstantopilous - Val's Mother (Mellissa or Mel), who currently lives in Port Angeles, Washington. A Volucris(4) and the one who made and gave Val her Fetish. Mel, like most Corax, has a number of IC Corax contacts. Most of the Ravens that she keeps in contact with, are located in the SouthEastern US, but one or two are known for wandering down in to Mexico. Skipping-Stone (Chatty-Chester) '''- Skipping-Stone is a Corvid Born Corax (Ales) and was born in 1998. He is a messenger and collector of stories, more than anything else. He has a fondness for big cities, junk food, and cell phones. He just loves cell phones, because they let him talk to all his friends and will often trade info and stories for top-up cards (when he doesn't outright steal them). He has been splitting his time fairly evenly between New York City and Toronto, regularly visiting the Sept's between the two major cities in upstate NY. Which is where his name comes from Hops-Between-the-Sept's-like-a-Skipping-Stone. '''The Villon Brothers - The Villons are an interesting pair, if a slightly odd one. There is Guillaume Villon, and that’s his alias, not his real name. And there is his brother, Francois, or Frankie Villon. He’s also known as Five-Feathers or Five-Feathered-Discount, if you want to fall back on his deed name. Their legit names are Connor and Frankie Smith, respectively. Connor is in his early thirties and runs an Auction House that specializes in antiques and rare items. He has a pretty big customer base, with a lot of really rich folks with lots of really expensive hobbies and collections. Some of them are not all that picky when it comes to /where/ the items they are buying have come from. He’s really handy if you catch wind of something that might be an old lost Fetish, or some sort of artifact that gives away a bit more about Gaia’s children then we really want normal folks knowing. Five-Feathers is a six year old Raven-Born Corax and he calls Conner Smith his Spirit-Brother, as Connor’s dad is the one that made Five-Feathers' Spirit egg. Five-Feathers spent time learning the ropes from Connor’s dad and got to know Connor fairly well, but their friendship really took off when Five-Feathers grasp of English improved. Like most Raven-Born Corax, he has absolutely no respect for other people’s property and after learning how his Spirit-Brother would trade certain objects for the human version of shinies, he took it upon himself to pick up a few things. Connor, being a rather opportunistic fellow, started teaching his brothers what human’s considered valuable and gave him lists of things to pick up, if the opportunity arose. As such, small valuable items have been disappearing from private collections and museums world over, in the last several years. Five-Feathers has this Fetish bag that he can put things in, than drag them across the Gauntlet as if they are dedicated. It’s a pretty good racket and Five-Feather’s is something of wolrd traveller by nature. What Five-Feathers gets out of this setup, I have no idea. Maybe he just likes making his Spirit-Brother happy? The Murder Sisters -''' A pair of identical twins from New Mexico. They were seen as having lots of potential. Enough so, that they were both given Eggs. And yes, they have lots of potential... But they're also young and are a little too fascinated with the Morrigan. Both of them are decent fighters. Having learned Razor Feathers, Hummingbird Dart, and they've /both/ managed to get their hands on those nifty little Fetishes that let them use those Gifts in Homid. '''Joseph Light-Bringer - Homid born Corax from Las Vegas. He makes Val's dislike of Leeches look, well, lets just say that he reallyreallyreally doesn't like them at all and has made something of a career of picking them off whenever possible. Nearing sixty now, he is slowing down, but he is one tough customer. Twinkle-Toes - Corvid Born Corax that lives in Eastern Washinton, that keeps an eye on a Glad that is currently shared with the Warper Nick Dalton. The Corax hope to use the Glade as a safe haven for Spirit Eggs. Twinkle-Toes got his name, due to his fondness for sparkly nail polish. Nokivaris -''' A stormcrow from Grandfather Thunder's brood. Like most Stormcrows, Storm's-Shadow/Noki can be very difficult to read. Manners, etiquette, and the showing of proper respect are all heavily ingrained in Storm's-Shadow's personality. Yet, one can remain perfectly polite while leveling carefully worded insults or threats. Rage:7, Gnosis:6, Willpower:9, Power: 35 Charms: Tracking, Acquisition, Appear, Airt Sense IC Quote "I am one of Raven's children. We feed from the dead, but we remember them as well. I am Memories-of-the-Fallen. I remember those who have come before, from the small and insignificant, to the great and powerful. If the one of the Dead wishes to be remembered, I will take their last moments into myself. And, when I am gone, Raven Himself will take on the Memories that I have collected during my life." GM Info '''GIFTS - Val has a number of Corax specific Gifts. CONTACTS: 4 - Val works as a Private Investiagtor, with Nicodemus Dalton as her boss and Riley as a partner. She has become quite skilled at picking up information from various street contacts (drug dealers, prostitutes, ect.), or from her contacts in the police force (Having once been a Homicide cop once). As a Corax, she also has some contacts with other Corax. Just some names, email address and phone numbers, but it is an excellent way to tap into any tales/rumors that are circulating outside the city and in the world at large. More specifically, she keeps in contact with one Corax that normally travels between New York and Toronto fairly regularly, a Corax in England, a Tengu in Japan, and a Raven-Born called Five-Featherd-Discount in Vancouver, British Columbia through his Egg-Brother. The remainder are scattered along the Western US. From Vancouver, too roughly San Francisco. While she can receive info from outside this area, it is always second hand at best and may not be as detailed as info from the places her contacts normally pass through. MAGE LORE: 3 - After calling a Mage friend for many years, then going on a months-long Umbral/Realm trip in the summer of 2012 and making heavy use of her Contacts, Val's knowledge of Mages in general, is pretty extensive. She also made use of a Fetish called the 'The Lucent Witness', which allowed her to speak with the Spirit of a long dead Bastet by the name of InkBlot. MENTOR:3 - Val's Mother (Melissa or Mel), who currently lives in Port Angeles, Washington. An Volucris(4) and the one who made and gave Val her Fetish. Mel, like most Corax, has a number of IC Corax contacts. Most of the Ravens that she keeps in contact with, are located in the SouthEastern US, but one or two are known for wandering down in to Mexico. FETISH:1 - Magpie’s Swag Gnosis 5 The magpie’s swag can be pretty much any simple closable bag, satchel, sack, or similar container, which can hold thrice the amount of a regular bag the same size. If dedicated, it counts as a single item, even if filled with other fetishes or even non-dedicated items, and it is represented by a stripe of fur in Crinos, Hispo, and Lupus forms. Unfortunately, it cannot contain complex Weaver objects such as guns or laptops, unless these items are broken and useless, or have been independently dedicated. The Fetish takes the form of a black and white hand-made leather backback, with a magpie design on the back. RESOURCES:2 - Val works as a Private Investigator and is a small Buisness owner, as she owns the Snakes and Lattes Speciality Cafe. WEAPONS: As a police officer, Val became familiar with the use of a handgun. Specifically, a 9mm beretta. Which she carries on her, most of the time. She also has a Silver Dagger, that was once the possession of the Hunter-Bane in early 2012. This is a perfectly mundane weapon and Val normally keeps it stashed in her apartment. Along with various other nick-nacks. ARTS AND CRAFTS - Like most Corax, Val is an avid collector of /things/. These things mostly consist of bits of found jewelry, or anything with a bit of sparkle to it that catches her eye. Val will often make custom bits of jewelry from her finds. She has always been a bit of an artist and this skill set has only increased with time. She specializes in pencil sketches and used to focus on animals and landscapes, but has since expanded to sketching out jewelry concepts before attempting to make her ideas reality. In recent years, she's taken to sketching people and has become rather good at it. ALLIES:1 - Val saved a Stormcrow Spirit, named Storm's-Shadow (Darkness-Before-The-Storm/Nokivaris, Object #664), from a reasonably powerful Bane in the Spring of 2012. She managed this through an act bravado and fast-talking. Even after the Spirit was saved, it was very weak. While it recovered and during an Umbral road-trip in late summer, the pair became fast friends. Motorcycle - She owns a silver Harley Switchback. Born: May 17, 1980 Stormcrow Ally Write up Desc -''' Darkness-Before-The-Storm is no ordinary crow, but a stormcrow from Grandfather Thunder's brood. His eyes are pools of darkness that seem to swallow the light, set above a slim and powerful beak. His black feathers do not shine; instead, they shift and blur, as if made from storm clouds given form and purpose. This impression is only amplified by the small sparks of lighting that dance between the corvid's indistinct feathers. The Stormcrow's caw is harsh and thundering, a promise of storms to come and the memory of those long past. 'ALLY - '''Storm's-Shadow's interactions with Val are somewhat complicated. Nokivaris is respectful of the Corax, who he views as a more powerful being then himself. He is very loyal to her, since she saved him from a Bane and seems to have a deeply ingrained sense of loyalty as well. He sees the way she is friends with Little Silvertip, and has allied herself to Mages (whom Storm's-Shadow sees as quite powerful). He respects her independence, as she serves no-one but herself, which is in itself a form of strength. As a Stormcrow, he is often privy to bits of interesting spiritual information, which he will pass on to the Corax.%rOn the flip side of the coin, Storm's-Shadow views Val's tendency to worry about others a weakness and will often tell her as much. He encourages her to walk down paths that she would normally avoid. Looking up information on a friend, instead of denying her curiosity out of a desire to not infringe on the friend's privacy. Dealing with less then pleasant spirits, to gain bits of information. Etc. '''HISTORY -' During the Impergium Crow was a powerful totem in his own right. He was submissive to the way of all things, upholding civility and keeping the ways of Gaia. As Crow was a humble Totem who bowed before strength, his brood was intrigued by the might of Grandfather Thunder. His spirits were drawn to Caerns where Shadow Lords gained power. Here, they fulfilled their darker urges, blissfully enjoying submission to power and witnessing the strength of those with it. In this way, the Crow Incarna became submissive to the Designs of Grandfather Thunder. When the Impergium ended and the rise of humanity brought an end to Gaia's perfect world, Crow felt the sting of betrayal. He then became fully complicit with Thunder's wishes, acting as his eyes and ears to help wreak vengeance against those who brought the Impergium to an end. His Gafflings sought out dark secrets that the servants of Thunder could put to use, and they help his children follow their path to ascendance and power. As such, Stormcrow Gafflings have become servants of Thunder as well. '''HABITAT: Stormcrows seek out spiritual carrion and corruption. They hunger for the chance to benefit from from what they find, and whenever the weak are ready for exploitation. They can be easily distracted by any opportunity that shines or glitters, but they require creatures more powerful then themselves to seize what they desire. Stormcrows are typically humble, yet envious of those who are near power. They know the value of humility, obedience, and loyalty. 'TABOO - '''The loyalty of a Stormcrow borders on fanaticism. If it believes itself slighted, or betrayed, it will never forget the offence. It will then find someone more powerful then itself to invoke retribution, or go about its own revenge with remarkable subtlety. '''PERSONALITY -' Like most Stormcrows, Storm's-Shadow can be very difficult to read. Manners, etiquette, and the showing of proper respect are all heavily ingrained in Storm's-Shadow's personality. Yet, one can remain perfectly polite while leveling carefully worded insults or threats. '''STATS - '''Rage:7, Gnosis:6, Willpower:9, Power:35 Charms: Tracking, Acquisition, Appear, Airt Sense. http://garoumush.wikia.com/wiki/Charms Category:Corax Category:Present PCs Category:Foil